Van Buyten open to Monaco move

Van Buyten, 35, has just won his third Bundesliga title since joining Bayern in 2006, but the Belgian international's current deal expires in June, and with Pep Guardiola taking over in Bavaria in the summer, the burly defender is not against the air of change at the Allianz Arena sending him back to France.

"Why not? I loved my time at Marseille," Van Buyten, who was at the Stade Velodrome between 2001 and 2004, told French TV station TF1. "There are some interesting things, challenges such as Monaco, for example, who are going to be promoted to L1."

Monaco owner and president, the Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev, reportedly has €200 million to spend on new players with his club poised to end a two-year exile from the French top flight.